I have seen him speak before - well, I saw the online version of his "Last Lecture" and I'm so inspired by him.
His name is Randy Pausch and he's been given a death sentence - terminal cancer. His video is amazing (http://www2.oprah.com/health/oz/oz_20071022_350_106.jhtml - click on the link: watch Randy's famous "Last Lecture")

Anyway, it got me to thinking - what would I say to my children if it were my last chance to say something?

Dum spiro, spero (Latin), "While I breath, I hope.” What would I say if it was my last chance to say it? What would I tell my children, my friends, my family, my loved ones?
I don’t know if I’ve made any statements that would stop the world in it’s tracks, have them look at me in wonder and astonishment and say “my oh my, why didn’t we think of that before?”
Epiphanies to me might be only 4 foot red penguins to someone else.

So I think… what do I want my children to carry? I don’t want them to carry my past. My past is filled with pain, bad decisions, heartache, a few highs and a few too many lows.
I don’t want them to carry my dreams because dreams are our own burden and no one else’s. I don’t want them to carry with them the times when I didn’t have time, the moments when I lost my patience, the hours spent away from them because I didn’t have a choice.

If it were my last chance to give something to my children, I would give hope. Hope against all odds. Hope that looks insurmountable obstacles in the face and says “I can conquer you.” Hope that looks beyond the reality of today into the reality of tomorrow and that knows how to make that happen. If it were my last chance to give my children something, I would give hope and I would tell them never to abandon it.

“Hope never abandons you; you abandon it” – George Weinburg

I would say to live passionately. A life lived without passion is not tasting life at all. I would tell them to pursue their passion. Success doesn’t always follow the pursuit, but I think contentment does. I would tell them to watch – watch the world around them. Watch people. Watch the stock market, but not too closely. Watch current events, watch children’s faces, watch animals playing, watch the wind blow the trees. In watching, passions are discovered. In watching, wisdom is born.

But don’t spend your whole time watching. Act. Take the step. Move in a direction and you will find that others are watching you.

I would tell them to never hate. And to be careful about love – Love as many people as you can, without losing the ability to love. And that is a hard lesson. But never lose the ability to love.
Love comes to those who still hope even though they've been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they've been betrayed, to those who still love even though they've been hurt before.

I would tell them to be open minded. I would tell them to question truth presented to them and know that truth questioned will always remain truth no matter how much it is questioned. Lies presented as truth will come unglued under scrutiny.

I would tell them to choose their path, but to make detours. Detours are the stuff of life, the things that make your life a story worth telling.

I would tell them to set goals. Not only achievable goals, but goals that seem impossible at the time. Just because.

I would tell them to write. Not just because I do, but because I want them to see themselves growing. Its hard to see a growing forest if you’re in it every day. Its hard to see how far you’ve come if you have no record. Write and remember.

I would tell them to experience life as they get older: Finish school. Go to college. And make a place for themselves. Buy a house. Kiss the wrong person. Read a raunchy novel, but also read F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Irving, Steinbeck, and Hawethorne. Then know the difference. When opportunities come, don’t miss out because of fear.

I would tell them to be impractical sometimes. I would tell them that money isn’t everything, but it helps. I would tell them reality is a perception and to always seek the truth. I would tell them to create their own reality and become the person they want to be.

I would tell them that life is slow sometimes and to take advantage of the slow parts. But it speeds up and you can’t do anything to slow it down except hang on for the ride.

I would tell them to write down their dreams – the dreams when sleeping and the dreams awake. And revise the list often.

So many instructions, but the biggest thing is hope. HOPE always because a life without hope is breathing without moving. It is a coma patient; it is death to the soul. Hope is what carries us through times when we feel alone and abandoned, it is only a blink of an eye away, and we must, with everything in us, cling to hope. Hope is what lives on when we go.

“Hope is the dream of a soul awake.” French Proverb


What would YOU say?